Road Trip Day 2 – Melting in St. Louis

Very little of Day 2 of our road trip was actually spent on the road. In fact, most of it was spent OFF the road, in the oppressive St. Louis heat. Seriously, it should not be allowed to be this hot and humid.

After a late start to the day, Melissa and I went with Scott (our lovely host in St. Louis) for burgers with another travel blogger. We went to Blueberry Hill in “The Loop” section of the city, which is kind of hip and funky and full of character. The burgers were delicious, and the place was close to the Metro station.

Which was good, since our next stop was the Gateway Arch downtown.

Melissa and I hopped on the Metro and headed to the Arch, which, as it turns out, is actually part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial — run by the National Park Service. Too bad I left my National Parks pass in my car. Oops.

The Arch is extremely impressive in person, towering 630 feet over the Mississippi River, with the city of St. Louis as a backdrop.

We paid the $10 to take the tram to the top of the Arch, which was an experience in itself. In order to get to the top of the curvy structure, you have to crawl (literally, crawl; the doors are only about 5 feet high) into this little pod-like contraption, which then shimmies its way up the interior of the Arch. At the top, little rectangular windows offer you views out over St. Louis on one side, and the Mississippi River and Illinois on the other.

After riding the tram back down to ground level and taking a stroll through the Western Expansion Museum, Melissa and I headed back outside for some silly photos with the Arch. Was this my favorite (and sweatiest) part of the day? You bet.

Then it was back to Scott's place for some famous Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. I got a “raspberry brownie concrete” (the “concrete” part meaning it was thick), and it was delicious.

All in all, a good day in St. Louis, even if I did almost melt into a puddle several times.

Each day, I'll be cutting together a quick video to show you what we've been up to. Here's Day 2:

Tomorrow, it's on to Tulsa, Oklahoma!